20 replies to this topic

[klawfran3]

I have a P. californicus tube colony in which brood never seems to fully develop. The larvae always reach pupae but then die shortly after due to weird reasons. One time the pupae had *just* eclosed but then spontaneously died and dried out and was shoved in a corner, another time the pupae started turning blue and then shriveled up because of a fungus. Just weird random things happening. The queen and two nanitic workers have a tiny pile of eggs that don't seem to have developed much in the weeks I've had them. I don't get if it's something I'm doing wrong or what, but I know I am going to an area today that I have seen lots of Pogonomyrmex living in, and I got to thinking: If I dig up a few of the brood of a single wild colony, would I be able to brood boost my captive one just so that they have more workers to care for the eggs and forage. Would doing this possibly have my eggs/ larvae/ pupae survive better? How would I go about brood boosting, as I am still relatively new to the hobby. It's very frustrating to lose the two things without having them develop fully.

Edited by klawfran3, September 6 2015 - 6:37 AM.

[William. T]

Do it, since some queens are bad parents.

[Mdrogun]

First you need to get brood from a pogonomyrmex colony that is the same sp. as yours or almost identical.

Second you have to do your very best to make sure the brood has no mites or mite eggs.

Third put the brood by your colony and see if they accept. You must make sure they accept the brood. Don't put it by their brood let the workers discover it.

[klawfran3]

I just spent three hours digging around a Pogonomyrmex colony and the only thing to show for it is a hand covered in stings. I'll try again in a bit. Why wouldn't I put it in with their existing brood though? Wouldn't that make them think it was their brood?

Edited by klawfran3, September 6 2015 - 1:33 PM.

[Mdrogun]

The reason you don't want to do that is because they might not accept the brood. Thus, when the workers from the brood boost eclose they might attack the colony. I've had this happen to me before with a formica queen.

[klawfran3]

Huh. That's relatively... unsettling. Shame I didn't find any brood though.

 

How deep do pogonomyrmex keep their brood? I ended up hitting a bunch of grain stores but no brood. I got about a foot down before I had to stop because my hand and trowel were being swarmed. At least I'm not allergic to their stings.

[William. T]

Pogonomyrmex are flexible. Drew had a mixed worker colony. I think the brood are very deep so they will not be dehydrated. 

[klawfran3]

Pogonomyrmex are flexible. Drew had a mixed worker colony. I think the brood are very deep so they will not be dehydrated. 

ok so I don't think I'll be able to brood boost since they're so deep. No way I'll be able to dig them up without getting attacked again.

[NightsWebs]

Try using a large shovel and an aspirator with a filter to prevent inhaling dirt or anything else for that matter.  You can dig deep and quickly and then collect what you are after without getting stung all over. just a thought....I even just use the aspirator and sucked up all the workers and placed them in a holding jar to prevent so many of them running about.

[klawfran3]

I'll be going to Kenneth Hahn this friday for an interview, I'll bring a shovel and a home made aspirator and dig around when I'm done to see if that works. I'm pretty worried about the queen by now; I just found a dent in her gaster.

[Subverted]

Can you snap a photo of your current setup for the queen? I have had a few problems with pupae/nanitics and Pogonomyrmex...but nothing that lasted as long as it sounds your problems are.

 

Sorry to hear the queen isn't doing better for you!

[AntsTexas]

wait for the "big move" to get some eggs/brood if they move or wait 2 dig after it rains.....

Edited by AntsTexas, September 7 2015 - 1:24 PM.

[klawfran3]

Can you snap a photo of your current setup for the queen? I have had a few problems with pupae/nanitics and Pogonomyrmex...but nothing that lasted as long as it sounds your problems are.

 

Sorry to hear the queen isn't doing better for you!

Here is the setup, same as when you gave it to me. http://imgur.com/HjzEYwk

 

She seems to use the entirety of the sides as a bathroom though, so excuse the blurry/bad photo. You can see the nanitic workers are still doing fine.

[Subverted]

Hrm... well now I am more confused than ever. Maybe dump her and the worker out, clean the tube, and give her some new water/cotton.

 

that's what I would do and beyond that I am at a loss. Hopefully she stops being a pain.

[klawfran3]

Hrm... well now I am more confused than ever. Maybe dump her and the worker out, clean the tube, and give her some new water/cotton.

 

that's what I would do and beyond that I am at a loss. Hopefully she stops being a pain.

I'm going to be ordering new test tubes from amazon soon, I'm just waiting for Formula Blue 100 to come back in to stock so I don't have to pay shipping. I'll see if she'll transfer herself in to a new tube when they get here.

[klawfran3]

I just had the queen transfer in to a new test tube. I have a feeling that she's been eating eggs and larvae too because there was a small pile of them a few days ago and now I can't even find more than two or three.

Edited by klawfran3, September 10 2015 - 12:31 PM.

[Crystals]

How often have you been feeding them, and what have you been feeding them?

 

I usually offer my various species a tiny drop of sugar water every 3 days on a tin foil plate.

 

Also, what temperature are you keeping them at?

[klawfran3]

Every two days I give them a droplet of honey, a crushed seed, and sometimes a cut up roach nymph.

They are kept in total darkness at around 74-80 F.

[Gregory2455]

You should put the test tube into a plastic container with a thing layer of sand on the bottom, just make sure the sand is sterile. You should not need any barrier, considering these are Pogonomyrmex californicus (the species of ant that cannot climb sandpaper if its existence was on the line.)

[klawfran3]

You should put the test tube into a plastic container with a thing layer of sand on the bottom, just make sure the sand is sterile. You should not need any barrier, considering these are Pogonomyrmex californicus (the species of ant that cannot climb sandpaper if its existence was on the line.)

So basically give them an outworld? Wouldn't that increase their stress level though, being exposed and not enclosed anymore?